


A Resident from a Strange World

by aoyamayuuga



Category: World Trigger
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2018-04-19 02:21:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4729142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aoyamayuuga/pseuds/aoyamayuuga
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once A Visitor from a Strange World.</p><p>Otherwise known as, Yuuma is a member of Border and Kido's ward: the AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Boy Known As Osamu

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [yuzu](https://twitter.com/sundress_) who was kind enough to beta this ch. for me.

Uncle Kido would frown. He'd probably sigh and shake his head at him before saying, "You really are his son," in that usual tired tone and giving him an hour long lecture on why he shouldn't- _can't_ use his black trigger where civilians could see him; never mind the fact that he's not Amou and that alone should give him a free pass.

 

On Yuuma's defense, it was for a good cause- altruistic and everything.

 

* * *

 

 

"Narasaka's close," he hears Miwa-senpai say over his earpiece, followed by Narasaka-senpai giving his coordinates. "Your orders are not to engage." Yuuma can practically hear the frown on Miwa-senpai's face.

 

He sighs and turns back to the scene in front of him through the small hole the rubble, that must have once been someone's home, allows. He watches the thugs from his newly transferred classroom scream and run after the giant trion soldier had finished crossing over. A bamster he recognizes; slow as hell but quite capable of property damage and trampling over civilians, or at least those it deemed as unnecessary because of their low trion levels. Four eyes (he should know his name, Yuuma acknowledges, since the teacher did ask the guy to help Yuuma get used his new classroom and all) scrambles to his feet in the opposite direction. Figures, who would run after a trion soldier of that size?

 

(Well, Yuuma would, but for one, it was his job, and two, he was capable of beating it.)

 

He sighs when one of the thugs trips, giving the bamster enough time to reach for him with it's mouth. He has his hand raised to his ear, ready to contact Ms. Tsukimi or Narasaka-senpai until something catches his attention.

 

A particular, little phrase he hears every day.

 

A major part of his life now.

 

Familiar.

 

As is the trainee uniform Four Eyes sports as he runs back at the bamster, raygust in hand (in the back of Yuuma's mind he realizes that Four Eyes likely tried to get some distance and momentum going when he ran in the opposite direction). Four Eyes attacks, though it doesn't even make a scratch on the bamster, only to catch the trion soldier's attention long enough for it to drop their classmate and turn its attention towards Four Eyes instead.

 

Seeing the bamster turn towards Four Eyes- it throws Yuuma off (though it shouldn't) and weirdest of all is the feeling of deja-vu that distracts him until he hears Four Eyes shout. Yuuma watches him be slammed away into the remains of another destroyed building, the bamster making its way after him (familiar, familiar, too familiar), jaws open and ready to attack-

  


Yuuma's standing before rubble, of a new crater with smoke still rising from it, and what looks like the scattered remains of the bamster. Behind him he can hear Four Eyes' confused, loud muttering.

 

"Oh, come on," Yuuma sighs, smacking himself on his forehead, ignoring Miwa-senpai's shocked voice in his ear.

 

* * *

 

 

(Familiar, familiar, too familiar- but _not_.)

 

* * *

 

 

"Here," Yuuma says, once he’s retrieved his own bookbag, placing it over Four Eyes' head, in the opposite way Four Eyes carries his own (if he had any time, Yuuma would point out that someone who makes himself a target really shouldn't be walking around with a literal X right on their torso). "Just walk in the direction I told you, you'll be out of the danger zone that way, and I'll look for you in a while, Four Eyes-"

 

"Osamu, my name is Osamu Mikumo, not Four Eyes," he interjects, pushing his glasses up with one hand. He sounds more put off by Yuuma's naming choice than by Yuuma handing him his bag and sending him off without so much as an explanation (hell, he's not even trying to get an explanation out of Yuuma).

 

_Osamu_.

 

Yuuma can't help the grin that takes over his mouth. "Osamu," he repeats, testing the name before nodding at him and pushing him away lightly by his shoulders. “Just get a couple of blocks from the danger zone, there’s a park nearby. Wait for me there, Osamu.”

 

* * *

 

 

"Your orders were not to engage," he hears Miwa-senpai say behind him before he even hears the latter's feet touch the ground.

 

Yuuma keeps his back to him, crouched down, inspecting the broken remains of the bamster that he had moved away from the crater, opposite to the way he'd told Osamu to go to.

 

"It's ok," he starts, grabbing a piece of the bamster and waving it over his head, "I beat it up."

 

Yuuma hears Yousuke-senpai guffaw immediately after landing behind Miwa-senpai; Yuuma can't help but smile at that.

 

"That's not the issue here," Miwa-senpai sighs out in annoyance. "You shouldn't have engaged, as per your orders. You could have been seen using your black trigger."

 

"But they didn't seen me," Yuuma points out, keeping his eyes on the ground before him, ignoring Miwa-senpai's feet from his peripheral vision. "They were all running away before I did anything."

 

"Yuuma." Miwa-senpai says (is this what having a nagging mother is like? sometimes Yuuma honestly wonders).

 

Yuuma rises to his feet, patting the dirt off his new school uniform. "I know, I know. I have a lot of explaining to do, right? I should get on that," he points out, before looking at the mess he's made. "You can take care of this, can't you senpai? I have a report to write out now and you know how slow I am at that, so," he says, already taking slow steps away.

 

Yousuke-senpai laughs again as he's circling the remains of the bamster. "Can you believe this kid? Leaving his mess for us to clean up," he grins at Yuuma and Miwa both from the other side of the crater.

 

"I'll make it up to you, Yousuke-senpai," Yuuma tells him with a grin, before he feels Miwa-senpai's hand land on his shoulder. He takes a deep breath before turning to face him, pout in place just in case he needs to plead his case and innocence (all lies technically, but the one with the lie detecting side effect is him, not Miwa-senpai).

 

"Running away?" Miwa-senpai asks, looking less than amused.

 

"Nooope."

 

"You've already gone and made this mess, shouldn't you at the very least be the one to clean it up?"

 

Yuuma sighs. This is taking his time away from finding Osamu and-

 

Shit. Or _worse_ , maybe he got Miwa-senpai on a bad mood and he'll make him go through the entire clean up procedure and everything as punishment before escorting him back to headquarters- which will cause problems because he sent Osamu away with his bag. How is he going to get it back from Osamu, not give him any explanation whatsoever, and make his way back to Miwa-senpai without Miwa-senpai noticing-

 

"Are you alright?" Miwa-senpai asks, shocking Yuuma. _Damn_ , _not the time to be lost in thought_ , he thinks as he sees Miwa-senpai frown at him. Miwa-senpai's gone from annoyed to looking genuinely worried.

 

_Play it safe_ , Yuuma thinks at himself. He cant let Miwa-senpai catch on that he's internally worried about him finding Osamu- especially when Miwa-senpai doesn't even know Osamu.

 

He cocks his head to the side. _Go for the obvious_ , he thinks, _it's just a meter away_. He raises his left hand, giving a clear view of the ring around his finger. "I'm a black trigger user, senpai. A thing like this is nothing to me," he points out. This is the part where he should say he eats trion soldiers for breakfast as per the foreign movies he’s seen with uncle Kido and those he got from Arafune-senpai as well- but this is probably not the time or place. Nor can he actually eat a trion soldiers. He's not Amou after all (not that Amou can eat trion soldiers either- granted sometimes Yuuma's not too sure about that).

 

Miwa-senpai's frown deepens before he shakes his head. He opens his mouth and closes it before sighing and running his free hand through his hair before finally speaking. "That's not what I mean. Look, I know you're more than capable of beating a simple trion soldier, but you've never acted so close to the limit of the danger zone before, even when you've gone against your direct orders- which you rarely do anyway," Miwa-senpai points out.

 

Yuuma can't really argue with that unfortunately. He turns his gaze away, watches as Yousuke-senpai pokes away at the remains of the bamster with his spear. Yuuma could tell Miwa-senpai the truth but he'd have no way of really explaining himself or his actions when he himself isn't too sure of them-

 

"Look, Yuuma," Miwa-senpai starts, tightening his grip on Yuuma's shoulder just a tad to get his attention. He turns his gaze away from Yousuke-senpai, right into Miwa-senpai's small frown. "I know today was your first day of actual school, so I'm asking you if this-," he stops and points to the crater next to them, "is a result of stress."

 

What.

 

... Well, it's not that weird of a conclusion for Miwa-senpai to arrive at, even Yuuma acknowledges this, but- _what_.

 

"It's been one day," Yuuma immediately interjects, frowning more and mentally sighing in relief that Miwa-senpai's going an entirely different direction than the reality and in turn making it easier for Yuuma. This is not manipulation, this is just going with the flow, he tells himself. Nor is the feeling in his chest guilt, not at all.

 

"You've been home-schooled since you arrived in Mikado city, Yuuma," Miwa-senpai points out. "Are you sure you're alright? It wasn't too much for you? Did anyone bother you?" he asks before Yousuke-senpai coos at them, telling Miwa-senpai to not be such a worrywart. Miwa-senpai glares at him, effectively shutting the other up- somewhat if the low laugh Yousuke-senpai lets out is anything to go by.

 

Yuuma snorts before coughing and turning his gaze away when Miwa-senpai turns back to him.

 

"Yuuma," Miwa-senpai says again but softer this time (there's a stronger ping of guilt in his heart but Yuuma ignores it).

 

He sighs before looking at Miwa-senpai. "I'm fine. Really, really. No, no one bothered me," (technically lie, the thugs he has for classmates were bothering him before Four Eyes- before _Osamu_ stepped in and they decided to change targets, forgetting him altogether), "In fact I think I'm gonna like it. Ms. Mizunuma is a lot nicer than the instructors uncle Kido'd been picking for me all these years. Much prettier too," he jokes with a cheeky grin and watches as Miwa-senpai shakes his head, trying to hide his smile.

 

Yousuke-senpai whistles, suddenly behind him and ruffling his hair. "See, Shuuji? The kid's fine."

 

Miwa-senpai looks at him once more, opens his mouth to say something before being interrupted, Narasaka-senpai's voice in their ears telling them all that he's found the group Yuuma told them about.

 

"Roger, you know what to do from here Narasaka, Yousuke and I will take care of the trion soldier's remains," Miwa-senpai replies, finger pressing into the ear piece. "As for Yuuma," he says, staring straight at him with the faintest of smiles, "he'll turn in his own report at a later time, we can take care the rest. Is that alright Ms. Tsukimi?" he asks.

 

A second later, Yuuma can hear Ms. Tsukimi, voice light and teasing, "So long as he remembers to finish his report and not forget to turn it in."

 

Yuuma pouts. "That only happened once," he mumbles, as Yousuke-senpai laughs behind him.

 

Ms. Tsukimi laughs as well. "It's alright. Miwa squad can handle the rest, Yuuma."

 

Yuuma gives his thanks as he makes his way from the crater, calling out to Miwa-senpai and Yousuke-senpai that he'd just get his bag from where he dropped it and make his way home. Both bid him goodbye before turning back to the crater, their backs to Yuuma.

 

He runs.

 

* * *

 

 

Yuuma finds Osamu sitting on a bench by himself, a few blocks away from the limit of the danger zone. He watches him sit, pensive with a frown in place and Yuuma gets the distinct feeling that it's probably the kind of face Osamu always has. Sort of how uncle Kido always looks like he just ate some really bad, sour candy or how Ms. Tsukimi always has that _'I could stab you right now and you wouldn’t even notice_ ' smile on even when she _isn't_ trying to be intimidating.

 

"How come you listen to my instructions that well, but couldn’t follow the first rule for trainees?" he asks once he's close enough, hands shoved deep in his pockets. He's shaking a little- from adrenaline more than likely (he's still not sure why he's doing this- whatever this is- and even less sure as to why he doesn't have any plans to stop).

 

Osamu flinches, his glasses jumping out of place before he turns to Yuuma with a light glare, as if he's more angry about being spooked than Yuuma's words.

 

"You're not an enemy," Osamu points out as Yuuma sits next to him, and Yuuma feels himself grow confused. It's not really an answer to his question, just a simple statement as if it were a fact. Osamu's not lying, Yuuma can tell, but how could he be so sure- "I don’t think you would have bothered to save me if you were. Plus, you obviously know about Border and what the first rule for trainees is," he points out as an after thought.

 

Yuuma stares at him in disbelief. It makes sense sure but- it's weird.

 

"So, you're affiliated with Border too, right?" Osamu coughs out, turning away from Yuuma's gaze. The top of his ears are a little red ( _oh_ right, _most people don't like to be silently stared at_ , Yuuma thinks, berating himself).

 

Yuuma shrugs, leaning against the bench they're sitting on. "You're right about that, Mr. Rule Breaker."

 

Osamu faces Yuuma once more with a frown and opens his mouth-

 

"I'm not going to report you or anything like that," Yuuma cuts in. _If I did, I'd have to explain the entire situation to uncle Kido_ , he thinks to himself. Yuuma knows ' _I followed some bullies and the their target for reasons that escape me and I ended up acting against my orders before I realized it because of more reasons that escape me_ ' will not sit well with uncle Kido.

 

Osamu doesn’t look so sure but he doesn’t say anything more.

 

They sit silently for a minute, the air around them growing more awkward as every second passes by.

 

Yuuma sighs. "Seriously, I won’t. Cross my heart, agent's honor and all that stuff."

 

"... Is there even such a thing?" Osamu asks, tone completely serious, and Yuuma laughs.

 


	2. A Boy Known As Yuuma

"Try not to get in trouble again," is what Yuuma tells Osamu after he'd managed to convince him that he wasn't going to rat him out and get him kicked out of Border for breaking the rules– so long as Osamu made sure to not almost get eaten by a bamster again and explaining to him what a bamster _was_. Yuuma really needs to have a chat with uncle Kido about teaching all border agents how to differentiate from each different type of trion soldiers.

They exchange contact information at Yuuma's request (or rather Yuuma asking for Osamu's phone and the other handing it to him after a couple of seconds of suspicion-filled glances).

Yuuma thinks about going directly to headquarters afterwards but decides against it in the end, thinking it'd make him stand out more than he already has after his first day of school. Instead, he makes his way towards the nearest convenience store and buys himself some snacks; Nothing particularly different than his usual routine when he's wandering alone in Mikado City by himself. He takes his time making his way back to HQ afterwards, two bags full of cavity-inducing goodies that uncle Kido will likely frown at him for, regardless of the fact that they won’t– _can’t_ do anything to his teeth.

The real down side of it all is, once he has nothing but his thoughts to himself, he starts to feel more than just confused about his own actions.

Why didn't he tell Miwa-senpai about Osamu? Why did he send Osamu away before anyone saw him? Why did he attack the bamster– unconsciously at that, even though he was fully aware that if uncle Kido found out he used his black trigger around regular civilians, his own classmates at that, he'd quickly pull him out of school? Why did he only tell Miwa-senpai that he was following a suspicious group of student making their way into the edge of the danger zone? Why did he bother to follow Osamu and the bullies after school as discreetly as possible?

Why didn't he stop them from targeting Osamu– granted he knows why in this case and does feel a bit bad about it once he thinks about it.

When the bullies tried to bother him, Osamu was the one to step in, even though Yuuma never asked him to at all.

In fact, there wasn't anything about Osamu that caught Yuuma's attention prior to said event. Sure Osamu was the one who would end up showing him around the school and letting him know how stuff worked. Yuuma had to remember at least his face if he was going to be spending time with him for the next few weeks. Certainly not after he'd been surrounded by other classmates asking him about what it was like being homeschooled, if he'd been homeschooled his whole life, if he was native to Mikado or if he knew of its history (and where he was from originally once he told them that he wasn’t, not originally, but that he _was_ completely aware of Mikado’s– situation so to speak).

Osamu just didn't seem that interesting– until he stepped up to the bullies who thought Yuuma would be easy picking. Outnumbered and obviously weaker than them all, weaker than Yuuma, he still bothered to stand between them and Yuuma.

It's not like Yuuma is small or frail by any means. Sure he has a bit of a baby face, mostly considering the state of his real body. Uncle Kido and the engineers made their best effort but even they couldn’t give him back everything he lost; there are only so many medical miracles they could do with the best of Miden's- of _earth's_ technology in combination with their knowledge of triggers.

He was, after all, only a few centimeters shorter than Osamu himself.

 

~

 

(Yuuma doesn’t allow himself to think about his body, what’s left of it, if he were to remove the ring on his finger.)

 

~

 

"They saw you," Miwa-senpai tells him as he pulls a chair from the table Yuuma happens to be having his dinner on, or what constitutes as dinner.

Yuuma puts his ham sandwich down, keeping quiet as he stares at Miwa-senpai with a raised brow. Better to let Miwa-senpai tell him whatever needs to be said before he tries answering. He'll know for sure if Miwa-senpai is lying to him, but he can’t be too sure if he'll say something Miwa-senpai will find to be false or suspicious.

"The group from two days ago. Before we erased everyone's memories one of them said a Border agent saved them, one of their classmates," he explains as he takes a seat and then frowns, "but they couldn’t even give us a name, just said he was from their class, so Ms. Tsukimi left it at that."

Ah. "So you looked into their records and–"

"Saw you were the newly transferred student in their class, yes," Miwa-senpai finishes with a straight face. No disappointment (not yet), just a blank stare.

"Oh," Yuuma says before shrugging. "Oops?"

Miwa-senpai sighs and his shoulders drop. "That should be the last thing you should say right now."

Yuuma looks down at his food. _It’s going to get worse before it gets better, isn’t it_ , he thinks to himself. "You’ve told uncle Kido then?"

"No."

Yuuma looks up at that.

"I told you, Ms. Tsukimi left it at that. If we felt the need to let Commander Kido know we already would have," Miwa-senpai says, drumming his fingers on the table. "Just– look just don’t make a habit of this ok? The guys who saw you couldn’t even give a simple answer like 'the new transfer student' so they probably didn’t really recognize you anyway. Not that it matters now," he adds as an afterthought.

Yuuma nods, silent. He knows it's true, had spent most of the afternoon worried and wondering when uncle Kido would request his presence to tell him he knew the truth and was going to pull him out of school.

"You're not in trouble Yuuma," Miwa-senpai tells him. "One of them could have gotten hurt and you kept that from happening just don’t forget that there’s a reason why you can’t help them as openly as we can," Miwa-senpai reminds him, rising to his feet. He walks towards Yuuma and places his hand on Yuuma’s shoulder. "If you need to talk to someone you know we're here for you," he says before walking away.

Yuuma looks back down at his food, appetite gone.

He sighs.

He's not in trouble.

Somehow, it doesn’t make him feel much better.

 

~

 

"I probably shouldn’t ask this so late but," Osamu says, a week later, as he stops when they’re both making their way out of school, "I thought if I looked for you in HQ that I'd at least get a glimpse of you. You are really affiliated with Border, aren’t you?" he asks, gaze set and unflinching.

Yuuma hums for a moment. "It's a very long story," he tells Osamu with a promise to tell it all in the future left unsaid. "But, yeah, I'm part of Border. I'm a Border agent, a bit different from you and the majority of others. The reason why you didn’t see me at all comes from one– the fact that _I_ wasn’t looking for _you_ and two– I spend most of my time either with the engineers or in my own special room– neither one is open to trainees just so you know."

"Oh." Osamu looks more at ease at that. "So I guess you're someone higher up, huh? That explains why you know so much," he points out.

Yuuma bites his lip at that. "Well, there is that so, sure you could say that."

Osamu frowns at his response.

Yuuma shrugs. He trusts Osamu, no matter how short their time knowing each other is, Yumma trusts him. He sure as hell doesn’t understand the hows or the whys but _he trusts him_. "More so than my position within Border, I know about neighbors because– I'm originally from the other side," he explains simply as he waits for Osamu to process what he'd just told him.

(Yuuma's not sure why exactly but in that moment he remembers the first time Miwa-senpai found out about his neighbor status. He remembers Miwa-senpai's confusion. Confusion at Yuuma and uncle Kido's words. Disbelief. Anger too. He'd been angry but Yuuma thinks even Miwa-senpai didn’t know _who_ he was mad at not really. He remembers the entire week that Miwa-senpai avoided him at all costs. He remembers, most of all, Miwa-senpai's apology.)

Osamu, if anything, frowns even more before his eyes widen. "You mean– you're a neighbor?" he asks. His tone isn’t accusatory, nor angry or even hurt, just confused. "But– aren’t neighbors the monsters that come out of the gates?"

Yuuma nods, then shrugs when he realizes that isn’t technically correct. "C'mon let’s find a park or a bench or something," he says motioning at Osamu to follow him. "I'll tell you a snippet of my story."

 

~

 

He leads them towards the same park, the same bench, from the first day they met. They sit, silent for entirely different reasons. Osamu waits for Yuuma to speak and Yuuma– Yuuma's not sure what he's waiting for. His status as a neighbor ( _half-neighbor_ , uncle Kido's voice in his head tells him) isn't a well-known fact even in Border. Nor is it something he has ever felt any shame over. It's who he is because of his dad, because of his mother. He didn’t choose any of it for himself; uncle Kido is always quick to remind him of that. What makes him different is what he chooses for himself after said fact.

"My dad," he starts, "he was from this side. He was one of Border's first members before it became public knowledge. A founding member of the original Border." He stops and stares at the sky above them. He spots a few stars here and there- he knows that here, on this side, they’re something completely different from the lights in the sky he once saw on the other side. "He– he eventually ended up on the other side," he says with a light shrug.

Next to him Osamu listens, patient and still.

"I don't know much of anything about my mother. I'm told she was smart, very smart and a ruthless negotiator. She apparently always managed to get vendors to sell her things at a fraction of their worth before they even realized it," he says before stopping. His throat tightens. That's it, that's all he knows of the woman who gave birth to him– a single tale his dad told Raymond. (He tries not to think about the times uncle Kido avoided all his questions about his mother and tells himself that he didn’t know her, he didn’t know her and that’s why he wouldn’t– _couldn’t_ answer any of them.)

"And what I know about my dad are from stories told by people who knew him," he says, glancing at Osamu who now looks slightly confused, the beginnings of a frown on his face. "I don't know anything about the first ten or so years of my life," he tells him softly.

"Amnesia?" Osamu asks.

Yuuma thinks about his real body– weak beyond words.

About missing limbs and phantom pain.

Trauma and nerve damage.

Yuuma nods.

He opens his mouth to continue but before he even takes a breath to speak Osamu is already rising to his feet. He watches Osamu quietly, as patient and still as Osamu had listened to him.

Osamu turns to him. "Thank you," he says, looking a little awkward but his eyes are resolute. "You don't need to tell me more than this, it- it's hard for you and I don’t really have a right to pry beyond this as is, so this is ok. You don't need to say more, not until you're really ready to tell me the rest. If ever."

Yuuma stares. "What makes you think I'm not _'really ready'_ right now?" he asks. His voice comes out softer than he intended it to.

Osamu tilts his head. "You did say a snippet," he reminds Yuuma with a small smile.

Yuuma looks down at his lap and tries to ignore the way his own mouth lifts in the beginnings of a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, there will be slight changes in Yuuma's appearance in this fic and it will eventually be explained and Replica is tied into said explanation for those wondering where our fave sentient rice cooker is.


	3. Yuuma and Nostalgia and Choice and Osamu

Life goes on as usual after that- if Yuuma can easily add, keeping secrets from uncle Kido, which would result in trademark dissapointed-sighs, to his everyday routine- and in hindsight? Yes. Life does go on as usual.  
  
The only difference is that this new and particular secret can think, move, and speak for himself.  
  
Still, life goes on.  
  
Yuuma goes to school, learns from the teachers, his classmates, and Osamu. He practices his skills at HQ. Sometimes with Miwa-senpai and Yoneya-senpai, when he can't escape the latter fast enough, but mostly on his own. He spends hours with R&D. Spends some more on his room, away from everyone. Still has breakfast with uncle Kido in the morning and still has tea with him at night, before he goes back to his room until morning.  
  
He's still sent on small missions for defense duty along with others by uncle Kido as well.  
  
"Making the rounds again?" Yuuma asks as Jin walks closer to him, shakes his head when the other offers him fried rice crackers from the bag he's usually seen with. Jin is one of Border's best, black trigger or not. He also has quite the habit of always saying half-truths around Yuuma; Has mastered the art for it anyway. Yuuma's never too sure if Jin has ever really tried to outright lie to him and his gut tells him that he hasn't. Still, Jin is the embodiment of half-truths and string pulling.  
  
He's more than easy enough to get along with though. If anything, Yuuma would call him entertaining.  
  
Which is still something that makes uncle Kido and Miwa-senpai grind their teeth (Miwa-senpai more so than uncle Kido; uncle Kido hides his teeth grinding very, _very_ well).  
  
"Are you having fun, Yuuma?" Jin asks out of the blue.  
  
Yuuma looks over his shoulder at the craters and just plain messes he's just finished creating. Or adding further messes to, he thinks, considering most of the area is abandoned. There's not much use to the houses with half the roof missing.  
  
"If you mean those, I'm sorry to say I don’t do it for fun or on purpose. Miwa-senpai and uncle Kido always chew me out over property damage," he says with a shrug. He doesn't do holding back against an enemy either though, not when he can take them. The faster they're defeated the better after all. And if he can't take them on? Retreat and regroup, uncle Kido's voice would order in his head (probably out loud too).  
  
Jin laughs before shaking his head. "No, I didn't mean it because of that. I meant in general, like are you enjoying living, waking up in the morning, all that," he says with a simple wave of his hand as if he's asking Yuuma what he thinks about the weather.  
  
Yuuma raises a brow. "One, I don't sleep, I take power naps. And honestly- I guess so? The answer isn't _no_." Is he happy? He's not _not_ happy. He's spent his days since his father's death in routines. Is that living?? He's 15 what does he know. Even being brought over to Earth by uncle Kido just started another routine that hasn't changed-  
  
_Except_ , he thinks, _except it has changed_. Just _slightly_.  
  
He thinks about Osamu and grins a little.  
  
"It's not boring," he tells Jin with a small shrug.  
  
Jin smiles at him like he knows exactly what he's thinking- and that's the thing with Jin, he probably knew before Yuuma did and didn't bother to warn him.  
  
Yuuma tuts, shakes his head in mock exasperation. "Why bother asking questions when you already know the answer to them?"  
  
Jin replies with a laugh and takes another bite of his precious bonchiage.

 

* * *

 

 

"And it's still bothering me a little," Osamu tells him, after he's finished lecturing Yuuma about not letting their classmates know about him being in Border (never mind that Osamu keeping that a secret is strange to Yuuma, who has _actual orders_ to keep his own Border status a secret). "You don’t gain anything by not reporting me to the higher ups." Yuuma's willing to bet uncle Kido's entire university fund for him that Osamu isn't the type to give up no matter how much common sense tells him otherwise, always listening to the little nagging voice in his head. Now if only he listened to an obviously ignored sense of self preservation Osamu would be better of.  
   
Yuuma shrugs. "It's not like I think you were doing anything wrong, but I do think it was pretty stupid of you considering how weak you are."  
  
Osamu sighs but he's not insulted. That's a thing about Osamu he's noticed. The guy is fully aware of his weaknesses and doesn’t take insult to them being pointed out. Rather, he'll sigh as if to say ' _tell me something I_ don’t _know_ ' but without any of the chagrin Yuuma would have thought common. It doesn’t sit well with Yuuma, not when his gut tells him there’s something special about Osamu- it's what he thought the first time he saw him ( _really_ saw him anyway, when he finally bothered to put a name to a face and a personality too). There's something about Osamu hidden beneath layers of- _something_. Yuuma hasn't figured it out yet.  
  
"Look, so long as we both keep each other's secrets, everything is good. No reason to make a big deal out of nothing," Yuuma points out, stretching his arms over his head. He also doesn’t need the school knowing about his status as a border agent either, and considering their Border fanboy of a friend and classmate has all active agents _memorized_ , Yumma'd have no way of proving he's a real member anyway.

Uncle Kido and Netsuki keep him and Amou hidden from all public records they can.

"And so long as you don’t pull a stunt like that again, even better-"  
  
-Then there's that same annoying sound (he heard it the first time he crossed over with uncle Kido, and has heard it at least once a week since then) followed by sirens and Ms. Sawamura's voice.  
  
He scowls at the portals mocking him outside the windows of the empty classroom they're in. "Oh, _c'mon_."

 

* * *

 

 

The first thing he notices when he and Osamu step out of the building is that the rest of the school is being evacuated as quickly as possible by the teachers and, as he registers the teachers words, that not everyone has left the building- before he registers Osamu's steps have stopped.  
  
"You won't be able to beat them," Yuuma says, quickly running back up to Osamu. "Even if there were two dozens of you to send out, most would fail and die." _You and I don't have the option of bailout, but I wouldn't even need it_ , he thinks.

Yuuma thinks about uncle Kido's words too- the reason why he's even in this campus to begin with. _Normality isn't an option for us any longer_ , uncle Kido had said. _But haven't I earned the right to have a try at it anyway?_   and uncle Kido's face had faltered for a second before he sighed and conceded- _but there will be requirements I expect you to agree to_ , he'd said and there was nothing Yuuma could have done to stop himself from hugging the man in that moment. 

He thinks about his father, someone in his mind created from the words of others.  
  
_A man who'd always done as he saw best_.  
  
"So I'm supposed to do nothing?" Osamu argues, turning to face him. "If you can't help them then I will, that's all there is to it."  
  
"Even if you won't win?" _Even if you die_? (Osamu is someone who never ever gives up, Yuuma has come to learn; Yuuma worries abut this.)  
  
"If it gives anyone even five seconds of cover enough to escape, then it's worth trying," is the last thing Osamu says before bolting back into the building. The teachers are busy rounding up who they can. They don't notice Osamu.  
  
Yuuma watches him go.  
  
The insistent vibrating inside his back pocket he's managed to ignore so far suddenly feels unbearable. _Stupid_ specialized phone and it's _stupid_ mandatory functions. He pulls his phone out and flips it open, feels the vibrating finally stop, reads the message sent three minutes ago once and bites his tongue.  
  
      _Arashiyama and his squad are on their way- do not engage. Help with evacuation. Be subtle._  
  
A man who'd always done as he saw best  
  
He pockets his phone and runs after Osamu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fic notes:  
> #yuuma is in love and he doesnt know it; jin does and finds it hilarious and sweet  
> #mostly hilarious, he cant wait to see shuuji's reaction live when he figures it out  
> #yuuma just wants osamu to listen to his poor neglected sense of self preservation  
> #so do i  
> #so does everyone who knows him  
> #stop giving us heart attacks osamu its rude


	4. Ripple, Acknowledgement, Trial

Arashiyama catches his eye first.  
  
Yuuma's talked to Arashiyama a full total of ten times, all very short conversations consisting of basic small talk and whatever orders uncle Kido wanted passed down to Director Shinoda.  
  
(Which, frankly speaking, Yuuma knows uncle Kido could have easily just emailed to Shinoda. He thinks it's uncle Kido's way of saying ' _get out of the R &D offices and take a walk_'. Yuuma appreciates the sentiment.)  
  
Even with such little interaction, Yuuma knows of the Arashiyama squad, as well as of the entirety of the A-rank squads and a majority of the B-rank squads, but the number of squads who know and interact with him fully well are really just four (Miwa-senpai's and the top three A-ranked squads).    
  
He also knows that all the A-ranked and certain B-ranked squad captains are fully aware of uncle Kido's order on HQ's black trigger users to only use their black triggers when specifically instructed and only then.  
  
(This is how they know they'll be backup to the black triggers or not, and this is how Netsuki knows when to prepare to possibly deal with backlash from civilians if said black trigger users are seen, especially in Amou's case.)  
  
So, it's not like he can tell them exactly what happened, not without blowing his cover (not that he did anything wrong mind you- a shield is no weapon, and using Osamu's trigger doesn’t count as him actually using his black trigger). The teachers and his classmates take over Arashiyama's attention quickly enough, screaming about Arashiyama and his squad while singing praises for Osamu just as Osamu sets him down. Yuuma's not hurt by any means (he'll just have to wash his uniform really well or possibly buy himself a new pair of trousers) and it's all part of the show- that really nobody seems to be paying much attention to anymore.  
  
Kitora- one of the rookie geniuses he's heard and seen plenty of- wastes no time putting the situation under control and subsequently making Osamu's achievements (Yuuma's technically, but he's passing them off to Osamu with reason- Osamu just has to trust him on that) look like a mistake. He thinks this is why Netsuki had her added to the PR squad. For someone his age she warrants more attention than many adults just by raising her voice a bit.  
  
"Is it really his fault when you were the ones who were late?" Yuuma points out once he's risen to his feet. Arashiyama throws him a confused frown before schooling his face down to a serious but controlled gaze. Kitora sputters as his classmates roar over him. The way her eyes widen he guesses, unlike Arashiyama, Kitora didn't notice or recognize him until this moment.  
  
"What are you doing?" Kitora whispers to him as she gets closer while the commotion happens behind them as Arashiyama and the teachers try to quiet everyone down once more. He ignores her, it's not like he can tell her really, and turns to Osamu who stands stiffly beside them with eyes that shout Kitora's same question at him. He wonders if communication by sight is an actual thing once he sees Osamu's tense shoulders fall with a sigh. Speaking is not the only form of communication there is, Yuuma knows this well but he's still surprised that saying ' _trust me_ ' to someone with only his eyes would actually put them at ease. Osamu's an odd one really, so it's probably more that than anything.  
  
Yuuma continues once everyone quiets down again ( _It's better to say what he wants to be heard when it's quiet and the attention back on him_ \- he learned that from Karasawa). "I mean, no offense to you guys, but if he hadn’t done what he did some of us could have ended up seriously hurt," he points out, not so subtly making sure to remind the crowd that Osamu 'saved' him along with a few more classmates.  
  
The crowd takes over for him once again.  
  
For a pretty solitary person Osamu has plenty of their classmates on his side, enough for him to seem a bit shocked at how intensely they support him (and believe him capable of such feats-which, to be fair, should be at least a little bit shocking).  
  
Kitora, true to her position as the ace of Border's prestigious Public Relations squad, looks flabbergast for a fraction of a second. Then it's back to business (and if he's gotta be honest, Yuuma's a bit impressed). "Even so, rules are there for a reason. Think of how many trainees and civilians alike could end up hurt because of those who lack the skills and experience decide to play hero. You all may consider his actions brave but they were reckless first and foremost. He will be punished, to make sure no one else pulls a stunt like this again and that's all there is to it."  
  
Protests start up again, though not as many as before Yuuma notices, before Arashiyama speaks up, a third member of the squad standing by him (Tokieda, if Yuuma remember correctly).  
  
"That's all well and true," Arashiyama says, to the crowd and Kitora alike, "but it's the higher ups who will decide in the end if he's to be punished or not. Especially considering that no one was hurt."  
  
"Understood," Kitora says, begrudgingly, before giving Yuuma and Osamu one last look and making her way back towards her captain and teammate.  
  
Arashiyama looks their way. "Still," he says, smiling- no beaming a genuine grin at Osamu, "my siblings go to this school so I'd like to personally thank you for keeping everyone safe."  
  
(Yuuma's fairly certain he just saw two heads move towards the back of the crowd as fast as they could. _Huh_.)  
  
Osamu isn't processing the gratitude very well though, his mouth opening and closing even after Arashiyama and his team have already moved towards a group of teachers to talk clean up, while another group of teachers start rounding up their classes.  
  
Yuuma pats his shoulder. "Close your mouth, Osamu."

 

* * *

 

 

"I'll go with you," Yuuma says at the end of the day, zipping up his bag (he's already checked twice that he has everything- he's not used to carrying so much around besides a single tablet, and he's come to find that notebooks and pencils are far too easy to lose track of).  
  
"Is that such a good idea? If you go, won't they figure out immediately that it wasn't me who beat those neighbors-"  
  
"Trion soldiers."  
  
 "-you know what I mean. Won't you get in trouble?" Osamu's frown deepens, mind racing with the consequences of his actions affecting Yuuma as well. Give or take a few minutes and Yuuma's sure he'd see steam come out his ears.  
  
"It's a fifty-fifty chance," Yuuma shrugs, fully aware of the consequences if uncle Kido sees right through him, as he makes his way to the classroom's door. "Either we both get in trouble, or we don't."  
  
"No, I'm still likely to be kicked out of Border, you heard what Kitora said," Osamu points out, walking towards to Yuuma. His hand stops Yuuma's from opening the door. "You shouldn't have to get in trouble for helping me."  
  
"You didn't force me to help you," Yuuma points out, his hand still under the weight of Osamu's. "No one forced me to do anything," he says, slowly and clearly, hand tightening on the door handle. "You broke Border's rules, yes, but Osamu you didn't do it to play hero. You did it because it was the right thing to do, and _that_ says a lot," he finishes with another shrug, sliding the door open when Osamu removes his hand.  
  
Osamu nods at his response, frown not diminishing one bit and shoulders tense and seconds away from crumbling in exhaustion and chagrin alike. _And the day is not over yet_ , Yuuma thinks as he watches him.  
  
They walk in silence all the way until they exit the building when all sense of momentary peace shatters away at the sound of camera flashes and not-quite whispers around the school entrance. Beside him Osamu lets out a short, "Huh," as Kitora makes eye contact with them both.  
  
Yuuma looks up, the sky a cloudy orange. " _C'mon_ ," he grumbles at the first big cloud he sees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #tfw the chapter ended up being over 4k words alone so I had to cut it and now have to reformat all the other drafted chapters


	5. Gamble and Budding Alliance

"Was it you?" Kitora asks as they walk towards one of the many entrances to HQ at the edge of the danger zone, Osamu looking like he's about to fall over from sheer stress walking a few steps right behind them. Yuuma wonders if he's tired from having to also deal with his and Kitora's passive aggressiveness against each other. In Yuuma's defense, she started it! There's nothing wrong with him accompanying Osamu (he's already got his arguments ready just in case, he's just saving them up for when he's in front of uncle Kido).  
  
"Nope! You can even check yourself if you don't believe me," he says, practically taunting. He did use Osamu's trigger so his own trigger's signature wouldn’t register as having been activated. He's not completely irresponsible.  
  
"I will," she tells him and he shrugs right back her. She won't find out the truth, seeing how it would probably worsen whatever consequences Osamu will face now and how it'll likely cause trouble for Yuuma as well. Then again, this is uncle Kido, one look at Osamu's trigger being activated and if he figures out Yuuma was with him the whole time, the man is bound to put two and two together. Of course he's banking on the other students repeating the story he gave them, if questioned- that he was in the bathroom the moment the siren started and hadn't managed to exit the building in time only to run into them and then moments later Osamu.  
  
It's quite a gamble, he knows.  
  
He's not as good as he'd like to be- at thinking on his feet that is.  
  
He really wishes he was, he thinks as yet another portal opens up above the bridge they're supposed to pass by.

 

* * *

 

 

Kitora's dripping from head to toe when he sees her again. "This time- this time it had to be you," she says with conviction, in a no nonsense tone. She reminds him of one of his old tutors in this moment (an older lady who always had a bad habit of trying to smack his hands with her ruler, always missing by mere millimeters).  
  
Yes. "If it had been me, I think it would've been pretty crystal clear, don’t you think?" he says instead because even he has a few tricks up his sleeve that even uncle Kido doesn’t know about. It's partially his own fault too, telling Yuuma never to show his full hand to anyone. It doesn't stop the sting of guilt within him.  
  
The chain he used to pull the bomber trion soldier down? That's one of those tricks.  
  
(He's thankful, in that moment, for the fact that he has made quite a bit of name for himself in regards to property damage- he's no Amou to be sure,  but he too destroys landscapes whenever on duty so people expect the damage when he uses his black trigger.)  
  
And the little enhancing option that he used on Osamu not too long ago? That's the newest of those tricks. Untraceable too, he found, the one time he played around with Yousuke-senpai's trion body, the other had been so confused as to why his steps had gone straight through the floor during training. No one ever figured out what happened that day, all shrugging it off as a possible malfunction which lead to an upgraded bailout system.     
  
He managed to discover all of that thanks to a trion soldier he had from what little remained of his dad's things that he still hasn’t managed to unlock completely- the same one uncle Kido had once told him not to mess around with.  
  
Yuuma's a bit of a rebel, he'll admit, and once he's started he can't seem to stop.  
  
When he catches Kitora's eyes looking down at Osamu and the crowd that surrounds him he can't help but say, "He's genuinely good, Kitora."  
   
She doesn't believe him, he can tell by the look in her eyes, but he doesn't miss the surprise or the way her eyes lose that over critical glint for a more subdued considering look when Osamu sees them and maneuvers everyone's attention onto Kitora instead of himself.  
  
Yuuma smiles at Osamu, now at the back of the crowd, sighing as if exhausted just being around the crowd but there's a small smile on his face when a young kid from the crowd turns back to him and waves before turning back to look at Kitora.  
  
He's not too sure, but surely the feeling bubbling up in his chest is pride right??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #an update! A miracle!!  
> #sorry for the short chapter but the next one is a long one to make up for it!!


End file.
